


Down The Drain

by mightbeababygay



Series: Bump in the Night [2]
Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Canon, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Movie Night, cuteness, it's only one scene, night before halloween, they're watching IT so spoilers I guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 11:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21252800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mightbeababygay/pseuds/mightbeababygay
Summary: Ben and Callum attempt to watch IT - Ben's idea of course - but, just like the rest of their Halloween dates, it never goes to plan.





	Down The Drain

**Author's Note:**

> Part 4/5 - Final part coming tonight!!
> 
> Not Beta'd. 
> 
> Tumblr - @mightbeababygay, let me know what you think!

“Boo!” 

Callum jumped out of skin, limbs flailing around, the controls crashing down onto the floor. “Ben!” He shouted, hand clutching over his erratic heart. 

“Your face.” Ben laughed, clutching onto the door frame as he laughed and laughed until he couldn’t breathe. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Callum exclaimed, reaching down to pick up the remote control he’d dropped. “How’d you even get in?”

Wiping at the tears that has gathered in the corners of his eyes, Ben stepped fully into Callum’s flat, slumping down on the couch next to his boyfriend. 

“I knew I’d scare you, eventually.” Ben giggled. “Jay gave me the key purely so I could sneak up on you. I can’t believe how high you jumped.” He snorted before dissolving into more giggles, leaning against Callum for support. 

“It’s the middle of the night and I thought I was home alone, of course you shit the life out of me.” Callum couldn’t help but smile, wrapping his arms around Ben. “What are you doing here, anyway?” 

“I was going to wait til the morning to come around but I was bored. So here I am.” Ben learned up to press his lips against Callum’s cheek. “I thought we could do something fun - like watch a scary movie.”

Groaning, Callum tipped his head back against the sofa. “Not more of you Halloween ideas. You know how badly they’ve turned out.”

“That’s not true! The biscuits were a complete success!” 

“Ben, you dropped the tin on the way back to the Beale’s. You smashed them all!” 

“They were great before that, though! And they were still edible.” Ben shrugged. “Besides, you were the one distracting me and made me drop them.”

“What?” Callum spluttered out. “How the hell was it my fault?”

“I was trying to keep up with you, you walk too fast.” 

“Maybe you just walk too slow. It ain’t my fault you’ve got short legs.” Teasing, Callum reached for the remote to hand to Ben. He knew this was an awful idea with Ben having already been scared off in the Fright House and adamant that he’d seen a real life ghost on the hilltop when they were camping, so a movie - Ben was never going to make it through. 

Ignoring the jibe, Ben took the remote, going straight to the horror section to find a good movie. Luckily for him, the channel had horror movies on repeat ready for Halloween the next day.

“I’m thinking ‘IT’ looks good.” Ben decided, even though he was petrified of clowns. They were definitely up there with his top things he was terrified of. But, being scared was the whole point. The adrenaline, the panic and someone to cling onto and hide behind was what made the movie. 

Callum sighed, knowing there was no way he was going to persuade Ben away from this. He watched as Ben selected the movie, the downloading bar flickering up onto the screen. 

“What are you afraid of?” Ben asked curiously as they waited for the movie to download for them to watch. 

“Nothin’ you can find in a movie.”

“Come on, Cal.” Ben pouted, tilting his head up to look at him. “I’ve spent two weeks trying to find something. And yet, the most scared I’ve seen you is when I jumped out on you. I ain’t even in a costume, for fucks sake.”

“Okay. But it’s stupid.” Callum warned him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “It’s not like - a fear of a physical thing, like clowns or ghosts. But the idea of being alone. Never being accepted, never being wanted, never being loved. Being abandoned, alone with no one there for me. That shit is terrifying.”

Ben sat up, letting Callum’s arm drop from his shoulder as he turned to face him. It made perfect sense now Ben could see it. The struggle he faced within himself to come out, the idea that he’d be rejected by everyone he loved because of who he was - it made sense why he was adamant to stay in the closet. 

“That’s why I didn’t want to come out.” Callum confirmed Ben’s thoughts. “Because of the homophobia I grew up with, I knew that if I ever did come out, my dad would never accept me. I didn’t think my brother would either - but he’s trying. Having Whitney, it was like the perfect safety barrier. I knew she loved me, that as long as I kept up the act I’d have someone, I’d be loved. I guess - I guess the only reason I did come out was because of you. Because you showed me that I wouldn’t be alone.” 

“Baby…” Ben whispered, leaning forward to wrap his arms tightly around Callum. “I’m never letting you go, okay? You don’t need to be scared anymore, I’ve got you, I love you.” 

Callum laughed wetly, burying his head into Ben’s neck. “I love you too.” He whispered, stroking circles on Ben’s back to comfort them both. 

The duo sat there in silence, in one another’s embrace, finding the comfort of just being held until the TV bleeped with the notification that the movie was ready. 

“You still wanna watch?” Ben asked, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to get rid of the itchiness of the contacts he had in mixed with the tears that had welled up in his eyes. 

“Yeah.” Callum agreed, clearing his throat to remove the lump he had. “But first we need blankets, popcorn and some better clothes. You ain’t laying here in your jeans.”

“You just want me to get naked.” Getting up from the sofa, Ben huffed as he pulled off his coat and placing it over the back of the kitchen chair. He toed off his shoes before padding his way across the floor, into Callum’s bedroom and yanking the duvet off the bed, not a care in the world as the pillows tumbled down onto the floor and wrapped it around himself, the bottom dragging along the floor as he walked back into the living room. 

Whilst he was doing that, Callum had gotten up to fetch the bag of popcorn from their stash in the cupboard. This wasn’t the first time Ben had decided to come round, on his own accord, and demand a movie night. Since the first time, Callum had taken it upon himself to keep a selection of crisps, popcorn and chocolate in a cupboard purely for when situations like this happened. 

Upon seeing Ben shuffling into the room, duvet wrapped around him and pulled over his head so only his face was sticking out, Callum couldn’t help but laugh. 

“What are you supposed to be, E.T?” He snickered, placing the bowl of popcorn down on the arm of the sofa. 

“Shut up.” Ben grumbled, prodding Callum in the side with his finger. He flopped himself down on the sofa, duvet pillowing around him. 

“What? C’mon, you look adorable. Do you want me to get you a bike with a basket for Christmas?” Callum teased further, nudging Ben to make room for himself. 

“The only thing I’m riding is you.”

Callum dissolved into giggles, unable to stop himself as he watched Ben attempted to be seductive, still wrapped up in the duvet. “Sorry.” He breathed out, wide grin still playing out across his face. “Sorry, I can’t take you seriously like this.” Callum said, the laughter still clear in the tone of his voice. 

“You know, I don’t know why I put up with you sometimes.” Ben removed himself from the duvet, swinging himself round to lay across the sofa, head in Callum’s lap. 

The older man grabbed the duvet, stopping it from falling off the sofa as he rearranged it, laying it over Ben. “Pretty sure I’m the one that puts up with you.” He retorted, resting his hand on Ben’s chest. 

“Yeah, and you fuckin’ love it.”   
Reaching for the remote, Ben set the movie to play, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl. 

The two of them settled into silence apart from Ben who was either squirming around or muttering nonsense about the movie.

Ben’s grip on Callum’s arm tightened as the pair of them waited in suspense for what was about to happen. They watched the child’s - Georgie - paper boat sail away from him in the rain.

“Why the fuck would you? It’s literally a boat made from paper, just make another one.” Ben complained as the kid on screen began chasing the boat. “Why did you make me watch this?” He whined, heart beating erratically in his chest. 

“This was your idea!” Callum hissed at Ben, unable to take his eyes away from the screen even if his hand tightened around the fabric of Ben’s shirt. 

“Ah!” Ben screamed, the pair of them jumping as the pair of green eyes flicked open from the drain, on screen. The pair of them watched as the clown stepped into the light. “Why are you even talking to it?! Just fuckin’ run!” He shouted at the screen, throwing the piece of popcorn from his hand at the tv screen. 

“Don’t reach in there, oh my god, why?” Ben continued to complain as the small child reached into the drain to get his boat back from the clown. He squinted one eye shut, the other straining at the screen, unable to look away, as he waited for what was to happen next. 

Ben shouted, turning his head to press his face into Callum’s thigh as the clown opened its mouth, teeth turning into thousands of sharp, pointy fangs and bit down on the boy’s arm.

“I mean, he’s clearly not going to make it.” Callum muttered, watching as the boy began crawling away until the clown dragged him back, pulling him in down the drain. 

“Oh god, I think I’m gonna be sick.” Ben rested his forehead against Callum’s thigh, trying to ignore the sounds coming from the television. 

Taking pity on his boyfriend, Callum reached for the remote, stopping the movie in an attempt to help him. He brought his hand down, brushing his fingers through Ben’s hair to comfort him. 

“How about we watch something else?” Callum suggested, speaking softly. He flicked through the movies until he found the animated section. “What about ‘Corpse Bride’?”

Ben let out a long sigh, finally letting himself open his eyes. “Yeah, okay.” He agreed, sitting up to move around, snuggling himself into Callum’s side instead of laying down. “Sorry for being such a woose.”

“You’re not.” Callum told him, pulling the duvet back over the two of them. “I think it’s a completely normal response. I mean, you should’ve seen me the first time I watched it, I cried.”

Ben smiled at his boyfriend’s attempt to cheer him up, leaning across to peck his cheek. Callum turned his head, pecking Ben’s lips in response. The duo smiled at one another, losing themselves in one another’s eyes until they heard the door unlock, the moment broken. 

Groaning, Ben thumped his head back down Callum’s chest. “That your brother?”

“Yeah. I’d have texted him to stay out for a bit if I knew you were comin’ round.” Callum sighed. 

Ben and Stuart hadn’t managed to get along, not really wanting to. Honestly, Ben didn’t even try to be civil half the time, it was only when Callum was around did he bite his lip to stop the insults that were on the tip of his tongue. 

“Alright, bruv?” Stuart asked, stepping into the room and taking in the scene of them two cuddling on the couch, the movie still playing in the background. 

“Yeah, you? We’re just watching a movie, you can join if you want.” Callum offered, prodding Ben as he opened his mouth to protest.

Stuart opened his mouth before closing it again, looking around the room, cleary trying to work out if it was safe for him to do so. 

“Don’t worry, we ain’t naked under here.” Ben snorted, rolling his eyes. “Sorry to disappoint.”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Stuart frowned, speaking to Callum. “I’ll just go to my room. I brought you some food.” He held the bag of chips up, hesitantly stepping over to place them on the arm of the chair before stepping back and leaving the room. 

“Ridiculous.” Ben muttered, snatching the chips up for himself. “It’s like he thinks sitting next to me is gonna make him gay.” He rolled his eyes, waving around the chip in his hand as he spoke. 

“Ben, c’mon, he’s trying. He probably just didn’t want to interrupt.” 

Ben chose not to answer him, not wanting to cause an argument. To be far, Callum was probably right - not that he’d ever admit it - but Ben was constantly on the defensive when it came to people like Stuart, goading them until they, inevitably, hit him. 

Sighing, Ben let it go, focusing back on the movie even if he couldn’t shake the niggling feeling in the back of his mind that he’d annoyed Callum. 

It wasn’t until after the movie, once they’d tidied up and dragged the duvet back to the bedroom, the pair of them now cuddling under it, ready for sleep, that Ben decided to bring it up.

“You mad at me?” Ben asked, laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. 

“No.” Callum sighed, rolling on his side to face the younger man. “Why’d you think that?”

“Because of what I said to your brother. I try to be nice to him, for you, but he just winds me up and he makes it too easy for me.”

Callum shook his head, brushing his fingers through Ben’s hair. “I know you try. He doesn’t make it easy and I guess, I have more patience with him because we’re related. He’s got a long way to go, I know that, and everything he’s put you through - I can’t blame you. Besides, you wouldn’t be Ben Mitchell, the man I love, if you ain’t winding people up.”

“Come here.” Ben grinned, fisting Callum’s night shirt to pull him down into a kiss, his other hand cupping the back of his head to keep him there. He’d never get tired of hearing how Callum loved him. It was still so strange to Ben that they’d got here to this place of happiness. How much he fought for Callum, for the older man’s happiness and Ben was going to try his best to give him as much of it as possible. 

For as long as Callum would want him.


End file.
